View full sizeAustin Anthony | The Flint JournalSavannah Damoth, 17, of Fenton, rehearses a dance number she choreographed for the musical "Urinetown," in which she plays the lead of Hope Cladwell. The production is being done by Outside the Box Theatre Guild.

Offstage, the 17-year-old Fenton High School junior retreats, standing alone focused intently on her fellow actors as they say their lines, dance and sing. She holds her hands and twitches her thumbs.

Savannah isn’t just shy. She also has a mild form of autism.

When Savannah was younger, she seemed to live in her own world and could only focus her attention elsewhere for short amounts of time, her mother Trish Damoth said. She also had childhood leukemia at age 3, but has been cancer-free for about 10 years.

Her growing involvement with theater has transformed her, said Damoth.

“It’s helped her tremendously. She’s so into it and she’s so knowledgeable. It’s where she should be,” Damoth said.

“And she’s so well accepted into that group by other actors. Sometimes she’s not the only quirky one. They just get her and accept her.”

In the Outside The Box Theatre Guild’s production of “Urinetown,” a musical about a place where private toilets are banned and citizens must pay to use public toilets, Savannah wears four hats: She is cast as Hope Cladwell, a lead character, and also is assistant director, choreographer and music director.

View full sizeAustin Anthony | The Flint JournalSavannah Damoth, 17, of Fenton, rehearses a scene in the musical "Urinetown," where she plays the lead of Hope Cladwell.

“She knows theater probably better than us. She has it down,” said director Bruce Catton, who chose her for the part and gave her the other responsibilities. “If there’s something she doesn’t like, she’ll let you know. She lets me know.”

Catton first met Savannah a little over a year ago when she auditioned for “Little Shop of Horrors” through Fenton Village Players. She was great, he said, but too young for the lead, so he cast her in the chorus. Savannah wasn’t happy with the casting then. But in Catton’s next play, “Hairspray,” she nabbed the lead Penny Pingleton.

Savannah said she likes the added responsibilities.

It’s difficult for her to explain the choreography that she envisions in her head to the other actors, but she gets help from two actors who convey her ideas to the rest of the cast.

Cast member Lena Maldonado, 12, who plays Little Sally, said she doesn’t even notice that Savannah has autism. Savannah knows her musicals, and is a great teacher, she said. “Urinetown” is the third play the two have been in together.

“She would perform the dances for us just the way she envisioned them and we’d just copy what she would do and we’d start with that,” Lena said.

Savannah was 10 when she was first cast as a woodland fairy, a minor role, in a children’s theater group.

“It was pretty much born in me,” Savannah said about her love of acting and singing.

Ultimately Savannah wants to live and act in New York City. To help her get her foot in the door, Catton is taking Savannah and her mom to New York in October to meet some casting and talent agents and introduce her to the scene.

For the parents of other autistic children, Damoth hopes Savannah’s story shines a light on what may seem like a dark, endless tunnel.

There is hope, Damoth said.

View full sizeAustin Anthony | The Flint JournalSavannah Damoth (second from left), 17, of Fenton, discusses a dance number she choreographed for the musical "Urinetown" with other actors in the production.

“Her strengths are there. And there will always be those pockets of problems,” Damoth said. “If she’s done this much in this amount of time, what can she do next?”